Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
Applying for Archive Service
Accreditation:
Using the online application system
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
Archive Service Accreditation online application system: user guide
Table of Contents
1 Registering on the online application system ................................................................ 3
Known issue with automatic registration and spam filters ....................................................4
2 Making your application ............................................................................................... 5
2.1 Starting your application ..................................................................................................5
2.2 Your application home page.............................................................................................6
2.3 Monitoring your progress ................................................................................................6
2.4 Working on your application ............................................................................................8
2.5 Uploading and deleting supporting documents .............................................................10
Standard uploading ..........................................................................................................10
Listing uploaded or linked documents ..............................................................................10
Deleting documents............................................ 11Space to upload additional documents
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3 Inviting others to work on your application.................................................................. 12
3.1 Adding a member of your team .....................................................................................12
3.2 Setting a security level for team members ....................................................................12
3.3 Known issues for working with team members ............................................................13
4 Submitting your application........................................................................................ 14
4.1 Deciding to submit the application ................................................................................14
4.2 Downloading the application .........................................................................................14
5 System Passwords ....................................................................................................... 17
5.1 Lost passwords ..............................................................................................................17
5.2 Changing your password ................................................................................................17
6 Submitting more than one application ........................................................................ 18
7 Withdrawing your application ..................................................................................... 19
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
1
Registering on the online application system
To register on the online application system use the ‘Need An Account? Sign Up’
button as below:
Then enter your details as below and click on register. The email address you enter
will be your login for your application.
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
After registering, you will see the following page. This page confirms that you have
successfully completed initial registration and that an email will follow to allow you to
complete the registration process.
When you receive the automated confirmation email, please click on the link to
complete registration . You can then start working on your application immediately.
Known issue with automatic registration and spam filters
If you don’t receive the email (from accreditation@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk), check
whether the email has been blocked by a spam filter. If this is the case, add
accreditation@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk to the safe address list to receive future
automated emails.
If you can’t locate the email in the spam filter, please contact the accreditation team
directly, and they will set you up manually on the system. This will be done periodically
alongside password resets (see below), so you may need to wait a few days before you
can log in. It will also mean that you can’t invite other people to contribute to your
application as a team effort (Section 3 below), and will have to use a single login to
complete the form.
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
2
Making your application
2.1: Starting your Application
Once you have logged into the system, you will be asked to enter the name of your
archive service. This will be used to identify your application in the online application
system.
Then click on ‘Get Started’
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
2.2 Your application – Home page
The is the home page for your application with links to the sections of the application
form that you need to complete:
• About your, your collections and about your service
• Organisational Health
• Collections
• Stakeholders and their Experiences
• Additional documents uploaded or linked
You can complete these sections in any order. There are a few mandatory questions
which you will need to complete before saving parts of the application, but in general
you can work through at your own pace and come back to sections as needed.
Please note that the Additional Documents section is not mandatory. It is only to be
used where you don’t have enough space to upload evidence for any of your responses
(see 2.4 below). It gives space to upload a large number of extra files, which should be
ample for most applications. If you still need more, please contact
accreditation@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk for help.
2.3 Monitoring your progress
The home page also allows you to monitor your progress in completing your application
Once you have completed each section then the status will change from ‘Incomplete’ to
‘Complete’.
Please note that until you submit your application all sections of your application can still
be edited or viewed, even if marked as ‘Complete’.
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
Choosing Edit returns you to the questionnaire. Choosing View allows you to review or
download a read-only PDF of this form:
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
2.4 Working on your application
Clicking on any of the form links as shown will take you to an individual section which
you can then complete. You do not have to complete all questions or all parts of
questions, if elements are not available or not relevant to your service.
Most sections comprise multiple pages:
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
You can navigate within each section via buttons at the end of each page .
You should also remember to save your application regularly using the ‘Save and
Continue Editing’ button. Saving the form will take longer when documents have been
uploaded into the online application system.
To return to the home page, use the Back to Submission button (at the top right). This
does not save automatically.
At the end of each section, the ‘Save and Exit’ option also returns you to the home page
while saving your application.
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
2.5 Uploading and deleting supporting documents
At various points in the application you will be asked to upload a supporting document.
Standard uploading
For most questions which require supporting documentation, the online system allows
you to upload two documents and then list them on an evidence table.
To upload a document click ‘browse’ (red circle below) and use the dialogue box to
navigate to the supporting document. The documents will be uploaded into the online
system when you save the page and will be indicated by text as in the example below
(green circle) rather than as a file.
Each ‘browse’ button only allows you to upload one document. If you upload a second
one using the same ‘browse’ button, the first document is overwritten. If you need to
upload more than two documents for a question, please use the Additional Documents
section of the application form (below).
If you have already uploaded a document elsewhere in your response, which contains
evidence for other questions, please simply reference it in the table instead of uploading
it multiple times.
If you download a copy of your application, each uploaded document will be
downloaded as a separate document as well.
Using documents which are available online as supporting evidence
For any documents which are available online you should give the URL in the evidence
table rather than uploading the document into the online application system.
Listing uploaded or linked evidence
You should list any documents you have uploaded into the application system in the
table providing details as in the example below.
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
For supporting documents available online, simply link within this table. You do not need
to upload a copy as well.
There are a number of rows in each of these tables for adding supporting documents;
don’t feel you need to complete them all or to upload multiple documents if one alone
can provide sufficient evidence.
Deleting uploaded documents
If you upload a document in error, you can simply delete it using the tickbox (red circle
below). When you next save the page, the document will be removed:
Additional space to upload supporting documents
If you have insufficient space to upload or link to online documents for any of these
questions, or want to upload a document in response to a question where you don’t
have the opportunity to upload within the form itself, you can use the optional Additional
documents section which is accessible from the home page. In this section there is a
single large table to record any further uploads or links, followed by a string of browse
buttons for uploading the documents. If you still don’t have space for everything, please
contact accreditation@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk:
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3
Inviting others to contribute to your application for Archive Service
Accreditation
At any point in your application form, the original applicant can invite other members to
join the application team.
3.1 Adding or deleting a member of your team
This is done at the Members section of the homepage – you can choose to ‘Add
Member’ or ‘Edit Members’ if someone leaves the team.
3.2 Setting a security level for team members
If you choose ‘Add A Member’ you need to enter their full name and email address,
and set the access level, either full control or read only access.
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
An automated email with a confirmation link will be sent to the specified email address.
‘Read only’ access to the form can be used in cases where you need approval for your
application.
3.3 Known issues in working with team members
You need to ensure that two people are not working on the same section of the
application form at the same time, as this may lead to work being overwritten. However
multiple people can work on different parts of the application at the same time, as each
section saves separately.
Please note: adding a team member can only be confirmed via automated system
email. If you are not able to receive these emails, you will need to use a single
login to make your application. Unfortunately, though the accreditation team can
add new users manually, we cannot associate them with particular applicationsas
team members.
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4
Submitting your application
Once you’ve completed the four mandatory sections, the ‘Submit Application’ button will
become active. You can then submit your application by pressing the ‘Submit
application’ button.
You will not be able to edit your application after submission.
4.1 Deciding to submit the application
The Submit Application button becomes live once the four compulsory sections are
complete. Unless you need to add any further evidence, including approval of policies or
evidence of delegated authority to approve policies, you can now submit.
4.2 Downloading the Application
It is possible to give someone ‘read only’ access to the form if you need to get their
approval for the submitted version (See also How to invite others section). Alternatively,
you can download a copy of the entire form for your reference and for internal records.
You can download a copy of your application at any time, before or after submission, for
reference and internal records. The Download Application button appears as soon as
one or more forms have been saved, even if only partly completed:
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
After you opt to download, downloads are prepared:
They are provided as zip files containing each section of the application form and the
supporting documents:
This is an example download of PRONI’s application when only the Organisational
Health section had been completed. The files appear in the order they were added to
the application form:
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
5 How to reset your password
5.1 Lost passwords
If you have forgotten your password and cannot access your application, please
email accreditation@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk to request a new password. Please
include PASSWORD RESET in the subject line.
Password resets will be done periodically – at least once per week – so you may
have to wait a few days before confirmation of your reset.
5.2 Changing your password
If your password is reset by the system to a generic code, or you want to change
your password for other reasons, you can do so under the Settings area at top right
of the application system.
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Archive Service Accreditation – Application System User Guide – October 2013
6
Making more than one application for Archive Service Accreditation
In some cases, such as where there was a decision for an archive service with several
branches to make separate applications for Archive Service Accreditation , you may
need to make more than one application on the online system.
To do this, use the Create Another Submission button from the homepage.
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Withdrawing your application
You can choose to withdraw your application at any time. This will remove the
application data from the system.
Please be aware that if you withdraw your application you will not be assessed or
progressed through the application and accreditation process.
However, we do periodically download information in the system for business continuity
purposes. The application data may have been captured and kept within the
accreditation scheme records in The National Archives’ systems.
We do not retain these downloads for long periods of time, and they are regularly
deleted, but if you wish your withdrawn application to be removed ahead of schedule,
please contact the accreditation team directly.
accreditation@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk
Accreditation Team
October 2013
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